Descartes Rene (a brief biography of this person is the object of our study) was a famous French physicist, mathematician, as well as a physiologist and philosopher. He was the founder of new European rationalism. One of the most influential metaphysicians of the New Age.
The life of Rene Descartes
The scientist was born March 31, 1596 in France. Since the parents were nobles, the boy received a good education from childhood. In 1606, Renee was sent to the Jesuit College of La Flash. Since the guy’s health was poor, in the educational institution they made regimen relaxation. For example, his morning began a little later than that of other students. In the same college, Descartes hated scholastic philosophy and carried this feeling throughout his life.
After graduating from college, Rene decided to receive further education, so he received a bachelor of law from the University of Poitiers.
And already in 1619, Descartes finally decided to engage in science. During this period, he was able to discover the basics of the new "amazing science."
In the twentieth year of the seventeenth century, he met with the mathematician Mersenne, who had a significant influence on the scientist.
In 1637, the famous work of Rene Descartes, published in French, “The Discourse on Method”, was published. It was with this publication that the new European philosophy began.
"Reasoning about the method"
Descartes Rene (a brief biography is proof of this) had a philosophical point of view that illustrated the attempts of European culture and traditions to free themselves from old concepts and build a new life, as well as science. Truth, according to the scientist, is considered only the "natural light" of the human mind.
Of course, Descartes does not exclude the value of human experience, but he believes that its only function is to help the mind in those cases in which there is not enough power for cognition.
Rene Descartes, whose ideas are used in modern philosophy, examined the concept of deduction, or “movement of thought,” which combines intuitive truths. Human intelligence is weak, therefore, it needs constant verification of the steps taken. This technique is needed in order to check the absence of gaps in reasoning. The scientist calls this test induction. But the result of deduction is a system of universal knowledge, or “universal science”. Rene compares this science with a tree. Its root is metaphysics, the trunk is physics, and the branches are such sciences as mechanics, ethics and medicine. Each of these sciences should be beneficial. In order for each industry to be as effective as possible, metaphysics must be absolutely correct.
Doubt and truth
Descartes Rene, whose brief biography describes the most important stages of life, believed that metaphysics as a science should begin with an unconditional constant of any beginning. It seems to him that the existence of the whole world and God can be doubted, but that he is a man, he is sure.
“I doubt, therefore, I exist” - the truth formulated by Rene Descartes, which made a significant turn in the European philosophy of the New Age. The basis of any thought is consciousness, therefore, the scientist denies any manifestation of unconscious thinking. An idea is a real attribute of the soul, therefore it is a “thinking thing.”
However, despite the fact that the scientist considers his own existence to be undeniable, he is not completely sure that the soul exists. It can even be considered a substance that exists separately from the human body. In fact, the human body and soul are faithful allies. But since the latter is independent in itself, for Rene Descartes this is the key to the probable immortality of the soul.
Reflections on God
Descartes Rene, whose brief biography is proof of the formation of a new philosophy, reflected on the doctrine of God.
Moreover, later he was able to give some evidence of the existence of the Almighty. The most famous factor is the ontological argument. It is impossible to deny the existence of God without contradictions.
No less significant argument is the very need for man to have the existence of the Almighty. From God we receive the belief that the outside world exists and is real. The Lord cannot deceive, therefore the material world actually exists.
Naturalistic philosophy
After the scientist is convinced of the existence of the material world, he begins to study its properties. The main quality of any material things is their extension. Empty space does not exist, because wherever there is extension, there is also an extended thing.
The teachings of Rene Descartes on the philosophy of nature report that other properties of material things exist only in human perception. But in the objects themselves they are not.
The scientist believes that all matter consists of several elements: earth, fire and air. Objects can differ only in size. In addition, things can not change their condition without the presence of irritants. And they move in a straight line - a symbol of constancy.
In his writings, Rene Descartes talks about maintaining a given amount of world movement. But the movement itself is not a property of matter, but comes from God. One first push is quite enough for matter in chaos to independently transform into harmonic space.
Body and soul
Rene Descartes, whose discoveries are known all over the world, devoted much time to the study of living organisms. He considered them to be sensitive mechanisms that are able to adapt to any environment and respond to external stimuli. External influences are transmitted to the brain and affect muscle contraction. The movements carried out by the body are a sequence and a combination of contractions.
Animals do not have a soul, and they don’t need it. But the scientist did not care. He was more interested in why a person has a soul. In the human body, it can perform the function of adjusting the body's natural responses to stimuli.
The scientist studied the internal organs of animals, and also examined the embryos at all stages of their development. The works of Rene Descartes became the key to the modern successful doctrine of reflexes. In his works, schemes of reflex reactions taking into account the reflex arc were shown.
Rene Descartes: advances in physics and mathematics
The scientist was the first to introduce coefficients, variables, and degree notation. He contributed to the theory of equations: he formulated a rule of signs for finding the number of negative and positive roots. He also showed that the equation of the third degree can be solved in square radicals or with a ruler and compass.
Together with Pierre Fermat became the author of analytic geometry. This science allowed the algebraization of geometry and consider it using the coordinate method. The coordinate system he proposed was named after the scientist.
In 1637, Descartes wrote the manual "Geometry", in which he spoke about the interaction of algebra and geometry. Here, concepts such as function and variable value were first considered.
Also included in this work were lines that describe articulated mechanisms during their movement. Exploring the lenses, the scientist outlined the basic methods for constructing tangents and normals to plane curves.
Currently, the whole world knows what Rene Descartes discovered. His work “Geometry” influenced the development of all areas of mathematical sciences. Thanks to the coordinate system he invented, it was possible to really interpret the origin of the negative number.
Descartes' works are also of great importance for physics. He was able to formulate the law of inertia, and also became the author of the law on the refraction of light rays.
The significance of the works of Descartes for philosophy
With his works, the scientist was able to direct the course of modern philosophy in a different direction. B. Spinoza and other European thinkers listened to his advice on the creation of philosophy as an exact science. And also that metaphysics should be built on the basis of the doctrine of the soul. Descartes also brought to a new level debate about the evidence for the existence of God.
The nature of the scientist
Rene Descartes, whose discoveries were very useful for the whole society, was a very silent man, and answered all questions that required wise answers, simply and dryly. This behavior has led to a rather secluded lifestyle. However, in a society of close friends and acquaintances, he became a very sociable and cheerful conversationalist.
According to Ballier, a large number of faithful and devoted friends and fans gathered around the scientist, but the scientist was not endowed with the ability to love others. In dealing with his peers, he was arrogant and arrogant, but, approaching persons of higher origin, he immediately became a flattering courtier.
A few words about René Descartes
The scientist’s mother died a few days after his birth. The boy himself remained alive, but until the age of twenty was in a state that was not very close to life. A persistent dry cough and a pale complexion were confirmation. He spent his childhood in a wonderful place, which was famous for its mild climate, fertile soil and magical gardens.
After graduating from school at the age of seventeen, he completely ceased to get involved in books and studies. The young man was only interested in fencing and horseback riding. But this does not mean that his creative personality did not receive the knowledge that she needed for further activities.
All the experiences and impressions that completely covered the young Descartes immediately became generalizations and laws. During the fascination with fencing, the future scientist wrote A Treatise on Fencing.
At the end of his life, Renee visited the Kingdom of Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina herself. She promised to give the old scientist a large estate in Pomerania. But in exchange for this, Descartes had to teach her philosophy.
A sick person had to get up very early in order to be in the palace at five in the morning. The trip to the Queen’s castle was long and harsh. Once during such a trip, the scientist returned with pneumonia. Having been ill for nine days, Rene Descartes died.